Christmas Eve
by UnseenSorrow
Summary: Nana and Hachico have almost nothing. This year they can't even afford decorations for christmas, let alone a gift! What else could go wrong? [my first fic in over a year. comments will help and are greatly needed!]


_  
I am as useless as before. I'm too depressed to look for another lover; I can't get a lasting job; I have no money! I am just rotting away, and Nana is the same as I. Ren has not come back from the tour yet. I can see it in her eyes; Her imagination runs wild with fears that Ren could be unfaithful. She has helped me so much, but...I'm afraid in this condition I can't find a way to help her through this.__  
_

_Nana please forgive me._

* * *

December 24  
3:00 P.M  
  
A cloud of smoke drifted through the apartment, as Nana sat quietly at the table. Her cigarette charred away in her hand. She hummed lightly to herself. Once the cigarette had burned out, she glanced at the clock. 3:06. "Hachi…" she exclaimed, "Even I wasn't out that late! Get up!" She waited for a reply. A shrill squeak escaped from behind the closed door, followed by a loud thump. Nana jumped up from her seat. "Hachico?" she asked with an air of concern. The door flew open, and a half-dressed Hachi danced out with a gift under her arm. A light nightdress dangled from her elbows, and had begun to fall an uncomfortable distance. She grinned happily, pulling the dress to its rightful place.

Hachi cheered, "Merry Chris-"  
Nana cut her off, "…Tomorrow..." Hachico frowned.  
"But we're going to celebrate tonight!" she moaned. Nana kept a stern expression.  
" You won't have enough in you for the guys then," She added. Hachi dropped the gift onto the table.  
"I can't wait to see Junko and Kyosuke!"  
"No…Blast."  
"Why is Blast going to be at Jun-"  
The pair looked at one another in disbelief.  
"You made other plans…didn't you" declared Nana. Hachi stared off into nothingness, but stammered every possible solution.  
"If we go to celebrate with Junko- no! Blast would be disappointed...  
I really do want to go to Junko's, but she'll probably bring up Shoji…  
Well, we could go drinking with the guys! But…Junko would have all that extra food! What a terrible waste, especially when I can barely afford to feed myself…  
Nana could go with Blast and I'll see Junko! But… I wanted Junko and Kyosuke to meet Nana!  
What if I go with Blast, and Nana-"

"Stop." interrupted Nana, "We'll see both of them." Nana smiled weakly, maintaining her "cool" composure. "Finish getting ready. We'll just start with your friends, and end with mine. Ren should come too" She finished her plan, and lit another cigarette. When the name left her lips, her eyes began to sparkle. Nana seemed so excited to see Ren again Hachi beamed with anticipation, and skipped back into her room; forgetting the gift. Taking a long drag, Nana eyed the box.

* * *

5:00 P.M

The pair left the train in their "fancy" garb. As usual, their styles clashed beautifully. At the door they rang the bell hesitantly. Hachi took a stressed breath, and let it out loudly. Nana rolled her eyes, and repeated more dramatically. They both laughed. There was nothing to be nervous about, right?  
Kyosuke opened the door slowly, and smiled weakly. He opened his mouth, but before any words could leave, Hachico had already let herself in. Nana followed casually.  
"Happy Holidays!" she cheered, jumping into Kyosuke's arms. His eyes followed anything but hers. He removed her from his slowly, as though she were a priceless crystal sculpture.  
"JUNKO!" he called to another door. The door burst open, and Junko flew out. She was acting as uptight as her boyfriend.  
"Nanaaaa…it's so…so nice to see you, but you can't stay." Junko hissed through her teeth. Like the Cheshire cat, the only thing both Nana's saw was an enormous plastic grin. Nana clenched her fists. Nothing about these people made any sense.  
"Whaddaya mean we can't stay!? You people are the ones who invited us!" she shouted, beginning to rough up Kyosuke. Obviously first impressions meant nothing to her. The couple turned white.  
Junko stammered, "You just can't." A death glare shot Kyosuke through the head.  
A pair of heads found their way out of the other door. The group turned in unison. Hachi gasped. Her body was cold, but in an instant she felt she would burst into flames. Junko continued, " We invited Shoji and Sachico to spend Christmas Eve with us when we never heard back from you." A violent curse left Nana's lips, probably for Hachi. She scanned every face the room. Shoji kept his eyes on Nana. Their first encounter should have been their last, but he was just as shocked as Hachi.. The room was dead silent. Nana cursed again, then humbly bowed.  
"Thank you for your thoughts…but we weren't planning on staying more than a few minutes anyway. We have other engagements." She looked fiercely at Shoji, then down at Hachico. "Happy Holidays…to all of you." The shock was too overwhelming for anyone to fight back. Nana grabbed Hachico's hand as casually as she had walked in, and yanked it towards the door. The warm touch slowly brought Hachi's body back to life. They concluded the scene with another bow, and left the house without a word.

* * *

6:45 PM

Nothing was spoken about the earlier events when they finally reached the bar where Blast was waiting. Nobuo and Yasu had already begun drinking at the bar. Shin sat next to them pouting, a cola in his hand. They cheered when the girls took their seats next to them. Nana shouted at the nearest employee, "Get us two beers!" Shin whimpered at Hachi's feet.  
"Hachi…will you give me some beer? Yasu won't let me have anything!" he moaned, cuddling her leg. She smiled weakly. He was co cute! How could she stay sad with a face like that?  
"If you're good!" she laughed ruffling his hair. He didn't find this amusing, and went back to his cola. Yasu shook his head, and Nobuo downed another shot.  
"How was your last party? Haha not as fun as this, I'll bet!" Nobuo beamed. Hachi looked away, leaving Nana to do the work.  
She sighed, "It doesn't matter. Let's just drink!" Nobuo looked at Yasu (who maintained his usual stern expression) and laughed heartily. He had obviously been here longer than the others had. Hachi changed the subject before it got any more out of hand.  
"When is Ren coming?" she asked curiously. Nana took a swig from her beer, and slammed it down. She wasn't going to let them know she was just as interested in the answer. Yasu touched the rim of his glasses.  
"He can't make it tonight." Nana set the beer down delicately.  
"Merry Christmas to him too…" her laughed sarcastically. For the first time they could all read though Nana's rough exterior, but would she be able to hold herself together for another night? She raised her empty glass. " To the success Blast. And to another year of happiness!" The group raised their glasses to the same cause, which seemed a worthy reward for them all.

* * *

1:34 AM

Over the hours, the table began to disappear beneath piles of beer bottles and shot glasses, but it was too early for them to be stopping. The Nana's swaggered into the cold city street, leaving the men to drink away the night. Even Shin was given something to satisfy his thirst. The girls laughed, and shouted, and cheered. Beneath the cloudy sky they danced, beckoning for something to fall. It was certainly cold enough. Like magic, the first few flakes began to fall. Soon the small flakes grew, and a light blanket of snow covered the ground. They held one another's pink hands, and began to skip happily down the street. No one was out now, not on Christmas Eve. They all had places to go or families to see. But not Nana and Nana: tonight, of all nights, they had nothing. Yet in this cold they were happy. Even this false joy was better than nothing. With each other they were content.   
­

* * *

_ Love is like the snow. We long for it; and when we have it, it has to be perfect. It is cold…and it burns at the touch. At the same time, it is beautiful, and can sparkle more than the rarest diamonds. Until recently I though love was nothing but ice. I guess it all depends on how you look at it…On Christmas morning we woke up early. We had no tree and no decorations. A warm home cooked meal wasn't waiting to be served to me. I did save just enough money to get Nana a small gift. When I put it in her hands her eyes watered, but she didn't cry. It must have meant a lot to her, but seeing her stop herself from crying, I couldn't help but cry too.  
Nana gave me something too, but money can't buy what she gave me.  
_


End file.
